Protector for freight-car doors.



L; ROTHHOLZ. PROTECTOR FOR FREIGHT GAR DO0RS.'

nruomxon FILED 51113.13, 1914.

1,128,365. Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

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L. ROTHHOLZ.

PROTECTOR FOR FREIGHT CAR DOORS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1914.

1,128,365, Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

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& 0 W0 3 vvuwvtoz 7 29131441209 as I IROTECTOR FOR FREIGHT-CAR DOORS.

Application filed January 13, 1914. Serial No. 811,886.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, LOUIS ROTHHOLZ, acitizen of the United States, residing at New York, Bronx county, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inProtectors for Freight-Car Doors, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to a device for protecting railway freight cardoors from being opened without authority. It has been found that carrobbers secrete themselves beneath the cars and when the train gets outon the road, they climb out and open the car doors, enter and throw outvaluable goods at places where their confederates are stationed.

It is the object of this invention to prevent these robberies.

When a robber climbs out from under a car in motion and attempts tobreak the seal on the door, itis necessary for him to hold on with onehand so that only one hand is free to manipulate the seal and afterwardopen the door. This fact is taken into consideration in devising thepresent invention, and apparatus is provided which requires thesimultaneous operation by both hands to open the door, or rather torelease the door in order that it may be opened. As a further precautionan alarm may be provided which will be sounded automatically when thedoor is released.

The invention will be hereinafter described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which constitute a partof this specification, andthen more specifically defined in the claims at the end of thedescription.

In the accompanylng drawings, wherein similar reference characters areused throughout the several views to designate corresponding parts:Figure 1 is a side elevation of a freight car showing my inventionapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the protector andalarm, the covers of the lever box and alarm box being removed. Fig. 3is a horizontal section of the lever box. Fig. 4 is a detail plan viewof the keeper or eye-plate on the car door, and Fig. 5 is a detail sideelevation of the hook for supporting the operating lever in its box.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, A designates a freight carof ordinary construction and having the usual sliding SpecificationofLetters Patent. Patented Feb. 16, 1915. 7

door '13. .Mounted on the door. is a keeper or locking member 8 which isrigidly secured a to and adapted to move vertically with a rod 9 guidedin brackets 10 fastened to the side of the car. One end of this rod,preferably the lower end, as shown, is extended into abox 11 andpivotally attached in said box to an operating lever 12 which is pivotedat 13, whereby the swinging of the lever down by grasping the handle 14thereof willjmove the rod 9 and locking member 8 upwardly and remove thebent end 7 of said locking member from the keeper 6. In locked position,the lever 12 is normally retained by a hook 15, so that access must behad to the interior of the box 11 before the car door can be unlocked.

The box 11 is protected by a cover 16,. Figs. 1 and 3, which isnormallyretained on the box so as to prevent access to the lever 12 by apair of oppositely extending sliding bolts 17, 17. Each of these boltsis pivotally attached to an intermediatelv pivoted lever 18, the freeends of which are connected together by a spring 19 which tends to holdboth bolts in locked position. These bolts are guided in lugs 20 on thecover 16 and are designed to interlock with lugs 21 on the box, as bestshown in Fig. 3. It will be observed that by reason of the arrangementof these bolts as shown. it will be necessary for the spring-attachedends of both of the levers 18 to be simultaneously swung in oppositedirectionsin order to permit of the removal of the cover 16 for accessto the operating lever 12 before the car door can be released, and thatthis simultaneous operation or actuation of the two bolts cannot beeffected with one hand, which is all the robber has to work with, theother being necessarily occupied with holding on to or supportinghimself from the car as already explained.

The other end of the rod 9 extends into an alarm box 22 also secured tothe face of the car and provided with a perforated cover 23, Figs. 1 and2. WVithin said box 32 may be mounted a gong 24 having soundingmechanism 25 arranged in the path of the rod 9, whereby an upwardmovement of said rod, as is necessary in order to release the door, willcause the alarm to be sounded. The rod 9 may be formed with a series ofknobs 25 spaced apart like rack teeth, and

the clapper 26 may be mounted on a pivoted arm 27 which is pressed intocontact with said knobs by a spring 28, the operation being obvious.Thus it Will be seen that the door is protected from being released by arobber as explained, and in the event of unauthorized access being hadto the operating lever, the door can not be released without soundingthe alarm.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A protector forinclosures of the character described, comprising a cover for theinclosure, a pair of oppositely sliding bolts for locking the cover onthe inclosure, separate means for actuating said bolts,- and resilientmeans connecting said bolt actuating means for normally and yieldinglyholding said bolts in locked position.

2. A protector for inclosures of the character described, comprising acover for the inclosure, a pair of oppositely sliding bolts for lockingthe cover on the inclosure, a pair of intermediately pivoted levers,each having one end attached to one of said bolts, and resilient meansconnecting the free ends of said levers.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two attesting witnesses.

LOUIS ROTHHOLZ.

Witnesses WM. M. CHRISTIE, F. V. WINTERs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C.

